Judith Utter of Mattituck dies at 96

A 96-year-old Mattituck woman who died Friday after her car collided with a dump truck had lived for more than 40 years in a house not far from where the accident happened.

Judith Utter, who moved into the neighborhood with her husband in the 1960s, took great pride in her small home, friends and neighbors said.

She had presided over its remodeling after a frightening incident in April of last year when a Lexus careened off the road and into her bedroom, devastating the home and rendering it unlivable.

Utter, then 94, was in the bathroom less than 10 feet away at the time. She wasn't injured but was forced to move out until Jan. 1, after the house had been reconstructed.

"She had some rough periods there, emotionally, dealing with it," said Janice Olsen, a close friend of Utter's who hosted her for nine months during the remodeling. "But she rallied, and everybody as usual always marveled at her resilience. They were in awe of it."

"She was so happy and so delighted, so proud to show the house off to people, she just loved it," said Olsen. "She was having a great time fixing it up and decorating it. She really was enjoying herself."

According to Olsen, friends and family had much to be in awe of. Despite the incident at her home, a fall last year and a bout with pneumonia, she had been in "amazingly good health." She lived alone and drove herself. Almost every Sunday, she went to the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer to attend services, said the Rev. Nils Blatz.

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"She was deeply involved in this parish and a so-called pillar of the parish," Blatz said. He also noted her decades of involvement in the North Fork Community Theater, most famously as the "ticket lady" in her later years.

"She didn't speak much, but when she did it was delightful or funny. . . . She was just a nice person," Blatz said.

Utter, whose maiden name was Davey, lived most of her life in Rockville Centre. Her husband, George Ryder Utter, died in 1968. They had one son, Davey, who lives in Venice, Calif. Charles "Davey" Utter, 70, just spent three weeks with his mother at her home in May, he said.

"Her health was good," he said Tuesday. "I was concerned about her driving, and then I drove around with her a bit and somehow convinced myself that she was OK."

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There will be a memorial held for Utter July 16 at 11 a.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Mattituck with a reception to follow.